The Perfect Hybrid
by ShiroSoul95
Summary: "Be-careful what you wish for." A common saying, told by mouth and book alike. Warning humans to think carefully before wanting. So what happens when this even occurs? In Kiritsugu Emiya's case it ends up with him being transported to an alternate reality where his wife survives, his daughter retained...and his son implanted with the soul of a Heroic Spirit? What in the world...


** Chapter 01: Heart's Desire**

It was a dry and cool summer night in Fuyuki City. This was in stark contrast to the previous week of torrential rains which was preceded by a month of hot, humid, and generally icky weather. By any stretch of logic it would be fairly correct to say it was a great time to stay out for some late night moon gazing before the heavens cooked up some new concoction to throw upon the surface dwellers. That was how Emiya Kiritsugu had justified his late hour past time.

Sitting upon the wooden porch he gazed up at the silver circle hanging serenely in the black sky, as if hung up by the glittering stars. Kiritsugu sighed contentedly as a breeze flew across the yard, buffeting the man softly. It was chilly yes, but at his age (and with his constitution) he barely felt it. Running a hand through his messy hair Kiritsugu sighed again, wondering how exactly life had become so peaceful. He was reaching the age of 40, with graying hair and a frail body. He slept most of the day away and was tended to by his kind son.

Ah yes, all that had to happen was to lose his wife, daughter, and kill several hundred people in a fire that leveled three city blocks of residential housing and commerce.

"Hey Old Man" a young voice called out.

Speaking of his son, here came the young charge himself.

Kiritsugu looked over his shoulder as a child walked through the living room hall way with small strides. The boy was fairly tall for his age, built solidly with a round face that made him seem even more youthful, though this contrasted sharply with the boy's serious golden eyes that pierced through the night air. The boy moved and looked behind himself, copper hair shaking briefly, checking that all the lights were off and unnecessary doors closed.

Really his son was too good to be true.

"Yes, Shirou-kun?" Kiritsugu asked, his voice sounding more tired than he thought it would.

Shirou made a face at the older man, "Its nearly fall, you can't be sitting outside with clothes like that."

Kiritsugu looked down at his attire. He wore a simple dark blue hakama, traditional Japanese wear. Thoughts connected in his head as he came to the realization that it was slightly off kilter to wear such clothing when autumn was right around the corner. The former Magus Killer's sense of temperature was faring worse than he thought; his body had deteriorated extremely quickly these last few years due to Angra Mainyu's curse. He could feel the changes on his body. His breathing had become ragged, his eye sight began to fail, and generally his senses were dulling.

Shaking his head to dispel his thoughts Kiritsugu looked back at the moon above. He gestured to his son to come forward, patting the space on the veranda next to him. The shuffling of feet behind him made Kiritsugu look back, watching his son march back into the house. Light's turned on in the living room followed by a few seconds by the sounds of cupboards being opened the closed, and water running from the tap. In a few minutes the boy returned, holding blankets in one arm and a tray of warm tea on the other.

Kiritsugu smiled; really his son was far too good for a child.

The pair wrapped themselves in the blankets that sheltered them from the soft cold breeze. The next hour was passed with conversation between father and adopted son. Subjects ranged from television shows, to sports, to a certain purple hair girl who seemed to enjoy waiting for Shirou in front of their manor so that they could walk to school together. Kiritsugu made a glancing joke that Shirou was turning out to be quite the smooth operator. The red haired boy blushed a deep red and vehemently denied that there was anything going on between the two friends, absolutely nothing.

Laughs and grumbles abound made the atmosphere light, causing the aging man to close his eyes and reminisce. He would have similar talks with Iri back when he was teaching her about the world. How the stores operated, how officials were elected, why whales sang, anything and everything that was her fancy. And she would always give that musical laugh or giggle that warmed his heart and made him feel better about himself.

"Dad?" Shirou called, his voice containing a slight hint of irritation.

"Hmm?" Kiritsugu inquired, opening his eyes slowly to regard son.

"You're doing that thing again. Where you just stop talking in the middle of a sentence and fall asleep," Shirou muttered as he faced away from his father to stare intently at the dojo across the yard trying to hide the worry on his face.

Kiritsugu chuckled as he reached out and roughly shook the red-haired boy's head.

"Sorry kiddo, just thinking about my wife."

Shirou's eyes widened. His guardian did mention in passing his previous family. Not much, just that he had a wife who had died and a daughter with whom he was separated from. Shirou never pushed for anything else, but he was always interested.

"The one… who died?" the boy asked slowly turning towards his father, unsure how to broach the topic.

Kiritsugu nodded, "I never told you about her did I?"

Shirou shook his head, slightly in disbelief at his father's actions.

Kiritsugu looked back up at the moon, for a second seeing the reflection of his late wife in the face of the bright orb. "Her name was Irisviel von Einzbern. She looked like a fairy. Long white hair that danced in the wind, soft red eyes that you could see yourself melt into, a voice that made even the heaven's cry."

Kiritsugu hung his head for a second, hearing Shirou softly repeat the name of the woman who had enraptured his heart. "She loved everything about the world. She didn't see much of it, living in a secluded part of Germany. But she still loved the world for the small part I showed her. She was always so…happy."

Until she died.

"And we had a child, Illyasiviel. Small cute thing she was. Looked just like her mother, though I think she had my tongue. Always saying the cheekiest things. You should have heard her complain when we played a game to see who could find the most walnut buds, trying to ensnare me in rules that would give her easiest path to victory. Oh the times, she would be around your age now."

The words seemed to tumble out of his mouth, suddenly moving on to his daughter unconsciously. Illya was the light of his life, a symbol of love between him and Iri. Iri loved the little girl dearly and wished for her to stay alive so that Kiritsugu had someone to return to when the war ended and Iri would eventually die. Kiritsugu's heart ached. Illya was all he said before and much more. He remembered her being so intelligent for her age, but at the same time so dependent on her parents for the basic needs. He remembered how she would always call out Papa when she needed something and Kiritsugu when she was angry. In hindsight, she was quite the entitled one. But she was innocently entitled, believing that her parents could do anything and wanting to reach for the sky on her father's shoulders.

"Sounds like you loved them a lot"

Shirou's blunt statement caused a sense of aimlessness to bubble up in Kiritsugu.

"Yeah," Kiritsugu affirmed, choking slightly as emotions welled in his throat, "Loved them more than my own heart…but my goal was still more important than them."

Shirou blinked, "Goal?" he asked, though on the inside he already knew.

"Yes Shirou-kun, I tried to be a hero. But being a hero is hard. Sometimes people have to die and leave, even if they're your own wife and daughter"

Life was cruel that way, but it wasn't unfair.

Shirou didn't answer, returning his eyes back to the stars. Silence came down upon them like a blanket, creating a strange mood. Neither males needed to talk, but Shirou wanted to say something and defend his savior-turned-guardian from the self derisive comments. Kiritsugu was right, but Shirou was sure the path was still true! The smile Shirou saw on his father's face before he blacked out in the fire was so brilliant. If saving even one life could bring happiness like that to one person then it would give himself worth. Kiritsugu meant the world to Shirou, his very actions resonated within the boy to the point where it seemed twisted. This silence was unbearable

"You know…," Kiritsugu drawled, sipping tea from his cup slowly "If I didn't take the path of the hero, I doubt I would have met you."

A lot of things wouldn't have occurred if Kiritsugu hadn't tried to do what he had done, placing lives upon a scale. Kill fifty to save a thousand, kill one to save two, or lose two to save six billion. He probably wouldn't have killed Natalia, saved Maiya, fallen in love with Irisviel, had Illya, summoned Saber, walked through the Fuyuki fire, or saved Shirou.

Shirou down at the wisps of steam that lazily rolled out of his tea and raised the cup to his lips, deciding to take a sip.

"And I'm glad I was able to find a son that I could love with the rest of my heart."

"Pfffffft" Shirou spat out his tea at the sudden words, coughing as he yelled at his father indignantly, "DAD!"

Kiritsugu laughed at the light blush on his sons face. Shirou's plus points were definitely in his honesty. He could see why Sakura had taken a liking to Shirou. He gave a light hit to the upset child' back and leaned backwards to stare up at the moon. Still shining clearly and giving the impression as the unmovable witness of the talk between father and son.

"It would have been nice," Shirou said breaking the brief silence with words out of the blue, "Meeting your wife and daughter I mean."

Kiritsugu's brain stopped as his eyes unconsciously shifted over at the boy. He had never thought about it before. How would have his previous family reacted to Shirou? If Kiritsugu knew Iri, she'd be enamored with the boy; easily taking to the prospect of being mother to another child, especially if Kiritsugu intended to play father. She'd like the boy's diligence and kindness. Shirou was also rather mature for his age; he'd be the perfect foil to his ditz of a mother. She would be able to comfort him whenever he had the recurring nightmares of the fire and reassure him of safety. He could see moments at night when Shirou's screams could be heard down the halls of the manor, when Iri would slowly leave the master bedroom not trying to disturb her husband's slumber and make her way to Shirou's room. She would get in the same bed as the boy and hug him, whispering sweet nothings of safety and security into his ear until both fell asleep.

Yeah, that's exactly what Iri would do.

Now Illya was a tough one. She'd initially either accept the boy as her own flesh and blood brother or reject him and see him as competition. But she'd eventually warm up to him, a boy as honest and submissive would crumble before the daughter's charisma and she would have no choice but to take him under her broad wings. The misadventures the pair would go on would be legendary. Illya blazing a path while Shirou tried to reason with her to stop or keep things from going out of hand. Maybe call Iri or Kiritsugu over, but in the end Shirou would find himself following her. Kiritsugu could imagine the two coming back from the wilderness dirty and bruised, a majority of them being on Shirou since he would be protecting her from falls and trips no matter how minor. Illya would later spin some splendid tale of action and adventure while Shirou would probably argue over the validity of some of details of their escapade.

_"We fought off a dragon!"_

_"No you woke a hibernating bear and we had to run before it killed us!"_

_"The gorge was humongous! We needed to make a bridge from sticks to cross it!"_

_"No! It was just a small trench, and you I WAS bridge! Look! I still have your foot prints on my jacket!"_

Ira would definitely laugh and clap her hands while suggesting the two take a bath and cleanup for dinner. And then it would begin. The fear setting in their eyes as the realization that Iri had tried cooking would settle in. Shirou would quickly take a shower and rush off to make an entirely new meal from scratch, he was awfully talented in household chores. Illya would follow him, to make sure his cooking was satisfactory, but her true goal being the one to taste-test Shirou's culinary prowess. And Kiritsugu would be looking on from the red velvet chair near the fireplace, chuckling softly to himself as he gazed fondly upon the family's antics, maybe falling asleep for a quick nap until Illya and Shirou came to wake him. Illya would be pushing and shoving while Shirou would softly nudge his arm and call his name. Then they would gather for dinner around a small wooden table, Kiritsugu sitting at the front with Irisviel on his left and the two children sitting next to them on his right. And they would eat to a warm family atmosphere. Shirou would fit in just fine. In fact, Kiritsugu easily believed that the child would complete the family. Make it whole in a way Kiritsugu never thought possible.

"I'm sure they would have been overjoyed meeting you as well," he said. Setting down his empty cup, Kiritsugu laid his back down upon the wooden floor, feet dangling on the edge as he let out a peaceful breath.

"You think so?" Shirou asked, very clearly unsure. He was probably thinking that Illya would kill him for taking her father (a bit accurate but he didn't need to know that).

"I know so."

Stillness once again reigned supreme, but that didn't register to Kiritsugu. In his mind's eye he only saw the four person family he just imagined. The things this family could have done. The pure love that could have been exchanged. The happy times they could have celebrated as one. The bad times they could have weathered together. What it would be like to have Iri and Illya once again, along with Shirou who could have easily been their birth son. It felt so real, as if he was on the edge of it. All these possibilities played through his head, to a light tune he didn't realize he was humming until he felt light vibrations in his chest.

These memories were just so warm.

The things Kiritsugu would do to achieve it. Path of a hero be damned, a family like this should have been his goal. If only…

"What a beautiful moon" he spoke softly.

If only…

Kiritsugu honestly wished, with all his heart, that he could have that possibility come back to him.

"_I haven't granted your wish now have I? Winner of the Grail War"_

What? Something gripped his heart and lungs and coldness crept up from his stomach. Kiritsugu was suddenly falling into darkness. The wooden flooring disappeared, the starry sky and full moon raced away from him. Even the calls from his adoptive son were fading.

"_I once offered this to you, but you rejected. They say distance makes the heart grow fonder. How true."_

A voice rang out of the darkness with quick succinct sentences seemed to pierce him with cold spires from all directions. Black ice, it must be black ice. Too smooth and cold for steel, so it had to be black ice. Who was this? Why was this happening? Kiritsugu could feel it. He _knew_this voice. Images of Irisviel flashed through his mind, not the clean and pure one, but the one near the end of the Fourth Holy Grail War. The one that was possessed by the tainted Grail and under the influence of Angra Mainyu.

"_Not the hardest of wishes to grant, Zeltrech made sure to reach beyond just one reality when he established the Greater Grail. There are an unlimited number of worlds winner of the Holy Grail War. So now Emiya Kiritsugu, which reality did you want?"_

_**The one with my complete family.**_

"_The one with your complete family?"_

The words from two sources overlapped.

His voice seemed to resound throughout the blackness even though he didn't open his mouth. His very psyche betrayed his new inner most desire.

"_If there is a possibility there is a world where it exists in"_

And he fell.

And fell.

And fell.

And fell.

And fell.

And fell.

And as he fell through the unending darkness he screamed.

_The things HE saw were memories. HE knew this for a fact. The memories flowed through HIM and by HIM at the same time if it made any sense. And even into HIM. They were like old black and white films from back in the sixties. It wasn't exactly true, for these "frames" all were colorful, but at the same time colorless. Only showing color when you were actively looking for it and slipping your mind when you weren't focusing, as if everything was in a haze that only cleared if you squinted your eyes. HE felt like he was bound to an invisible chair and forced to watch memories like he was stuck in a deranged movie theater. _

_~\*/*\*/*\*/~_

"_Kiritsugu-sama! Kiritusugu-sama!" a frantic voice yelled as rushed footsteps could be heard echoing in the long hallways of the main Einzbern castle in depths of the heavily forested German countryside._

_It was snowing heavily outside but he could only hear the blood raging in his ears. His hands were folded in front of him and he looked up at the stained glass ceiling, covered with the frozen white powder. He was in the small chapel that the Einzbern had constructed in the western wing of the castle. He had opted for no light, trying to keep himself to his thoughts and the darkness. The shadows were only penetrated by the ethereal light coming from the snow outside. Empty rows of wooden seats faced him, judging him with their invisible stares and making what should have been a joyous moment into a cold and lifeless occasion._

_What had he done? What was he doing? Was there still time to stop this? _

_Questions went through his mind, but were quickly halted by the sound of a hand slamming the doors to the room of worship open. _

_A woman in strange clothing stood there out of breath, her white nurse-maid gown moving with every breath and her headdress becoming even more disheveled. Her eyes were unnaturally red and the brief hair that could be seen was an inhuman white, like ivory. She was an Einzbern homunculus._

_"Your child is born!"_

_His gaze returned downwards, towards his hands that suddenly had grabbed one another. His immaculate business suit suddenly weighing heavier than a sack of bricks and colder than dry ice._

_Child?_

_Child? Child? Child? Child? Child? Child? Child? Child? Child? Child? Child? Child? Child? Child? Child? Child. Child. Child. Child. Child. Child. Child. Child. Child. Child. Child. Child. Child. Child. Child. Child. Child. Child._

_He tightened the grip on one hand onto, the action another accompanied by the sound of grinding bones and flesh._

_What had he done? What was he doing? Was there still time to stop this?_

_Kiritsugu stood and followed the anxious maid. _

_~\*/*\*/*\*/~_

_Kiritsugu was looking out the window into the storm, the angry-gray clouds making the blizzard outside seem like Mother Nature herself was renouncing the events transpiring. It was quieter in this wing of the castle; the walls of the room were made of thick stone that muffled the sound of the storm outside. His mind was moving at a snail's pace, unable to process anything at all. His eyes glanced over to his left unconsciously. _

_A woman with red eyes and long platinum hair was sitting upright in a canopied bed with crimson-colored silken drapes covering the four posts. Pink blankets spilled over the edges, covering more than just the lady and the bed. It contrasted sharply with the gold trim of the long curtains and the pillows. Luxury seemed to fit the woman's peerless visage, but that wasn't what he was focusing on; he was looking at the package of cloth in her arms. He knew a small child was there. He hadn't looked at the lady's baby yet, and couldn't see it right now. The woman's locks acted like a curtain, hiding the child from his line of sight with a veil of hair. Not that he complained in the slightest. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to see the child. _

"_So adorable," the woman breathed softly to no-one in particular. _

_Kiritsugu's heart seized at her words._

"_So small, so delicate…" she cooed and raised her head to look at him. He quickly averted his eyes to look out the window again and focused on the distant Swiss Alps with all the will-power he could muster. _

"_Look Kiritsugu, her eyes are just like yours" she looked back at the girl in her arms, "I'm glad she was born." _

_So it was a girl…_

_He softly took in air and spoke, "Iri…I will… cause your death" _

_Irisviel gasped softly before giving a small laugh, as if he spoke of the most trivial things._

"_I know. It's the earnest wish of the Einzbern clan and the very reason I exist," she said and slowly rocked the bundle of joy in her arms, "I am who I am now because I learned of your ideals and took your prayers to heart. You've guided me. You've given me a life a mere puppet wouldn't have."_

_The homunculus mother sighed briefly, "You need not pity me. I'm already a part of you. So-"_

"_I-!" _

_He spoke suddenly and cut her off midsentence, his composure slipping. His shoulders were raised and his hands becoming fists and that opened and closed repeatedly. His entire body was trembling. _

"_I-I have no right…" his upper half finally coming into a taut stance, "…to hold that child" _

"_Kiritsugu, don't forget," his lover chided, "A world where no one needs to cry that way…isn't that your ideal? Emiya Kiritsugu, is that not your dream? Eight more years, and your fight will come to an end and our ideals will become reality. I'm sure the Holy Grail will save you. So take this child, Illyasviel, and hold her. Be proud, just like any father would."_

_His heart hurt once again as he turned, a single tear running down his cheeks, to look upon his small family. Yes that was right, Illyasviel was HIS daughter. And he had to achieve so much or else all the suffering they had endured would be meaningless. He needed to create a world where Illya wouldn't ever cry in pain and sorrow. _

_Iri held out Illya gently towards the daughter's father. _

_His restraint broke as he nearly ran to the baby and held the small thing close to him and wept silently apologizing to whatever God or gods existed to bring his little one joy. He ignored the throb of pain on his the back of his right hand. The cross of glowing red that tied him to a single conflict in eight years' time._

_~\*/*\*/*\*/~_

"_It's finally here"_

_Seven years had passed and there was a definite change in his face. He seemed to be more at peace, as if he had come to terms with what had happened years prior._

_They were currently in one of the many studies that littered the Einzbern castle. He had much time to turn the pre-historic room into a modern technological suite. Installing power cables, high-speed satellite internet access, tele-communication transceivers, and a private network not connected to the outside world had all taken time, but was completely worth it now that the eve of the Fourth Holy Grail War was upon them. The ability to receive and give information and orders at near light speed was a tactical boon. _

"_Hmm?" Iri questioned as she gracefully moved to where he was sitting, behind the large mahogany desk that was adjacent to the windows that overlooked the forest. It was snowing again, but this flurry was lighter and tamer than that evening seven years ago, "What kind of information?"_

_Kiritsugu clicked the mouse to pull up a document file on his laptop screen. _

"_It's a report from the spies I sent to the London Clock Tower" he answered as his eyes quickly scanned the preface of the document, "It says that the Grail chose a Master from within the highest authority of the Mage's Association, the Clock Tower."_

"_Who?"_

"_A troublesome man," he clicked his tongue in annoyance as he scrolled down to read the profile of their newest known enemy, "Eldest son of the famous Archibald family which produced nine-generation of blue-blood Magi. Distantly related to the Barthomeloi and has strong ties to the hierarchy. Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald."_

"_I've…heard about him before. He apparently is one of the sought-after lecturers of Spiritual Evocation," Iri said softly as she tapped her cheeks in thought. _

"_Indeed, though I would like to have a bit more information. Ah, speak of the devil…" _

_As he spoke he was interrupted by his fax machine whirring as it printed out pages of a report from one of his numerous spies. Irisviel eyes lit up in curiosity as the machine spit out page after page. He gave a small smile to her as he carefully gathered the papers and clipped them together, his every move observed in rapt fascination by his wife. _

"_Well then, let's go over what we know," he said as he flipped through the pages. Irisviel walked from her place on his left to his right shoulder to get a better view of the leaflets in his hand, "Of the seven Masters the Grail will choose, we know of three."_

_He placed the packet in his hands into a manila folder, and exchanged the folder for an identical one that sat on the corner of his desk._

_"First Master, Tohsaka Tokiomi, the head of the Tohsaka family. One of the three families to establish the Holy Grail system. He's a fire Mage who uses jewel magic. A difficult opponent." He stopped as he read the man's small bios. Tokiomi had two children, both daughters. His wife, Tohsaka Aoi, was from a clan whose blood line was able to maintain and even bring out the best of the future heirs through physical birth. His eldest daughter, Tohsaka Rin, was apparently an Average One, with affinity to all five elements. She even boasted a significant number of Magic Circuits that ranked with some of the longer lasting noble families in the Clock Tower. His other daughter, Tohsaka Sakura, was no slouch either. With an affinity to fire and a high base pool of prana she would be a powerful magus like her sister with proper training. Kiritsugu had been tempted to use the daughter's as hostages, but his own sense of morality and shame at the thought of his own daughter being used in such a way made him rethink that plan. He was getting soft, but in his defense the plan probably wouldn't have worked anyway. Apparently Tohsaka's wife had taken her two children abroad with the airplane tickets indicating Paris, France and Dublin, Ireland as two stops. _

_He closed the folder and picked up another, pulling out the contents deftly. _

"_Second known Master is the previously mentioned Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald. He has a double affinity of wind and water, and has mastership over Necromancy, Summoning, and Alchemy." Kayneth was engaged to Sola-Ui Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri, whose father was head of the Spiritual Evocation Division of the Clock Tower. Kayneth was a formidable foe. Secrecy of magi had made it impossible for him to know what combat-based magic that man used. The Archibald family's history and shipping records showed that it relied on heavy metals and corrosive electrolytes. A recent order had been spotted of mercury and sulfuric acid. This gave way to speculation that the man would use Alchemy of some kind, and his Summoning ability would ensure that he would be summoning his Servant first. Kiritsugu had already made preparations for years so it wouldn't do to lose first blood; he had a Saber to summon after all and couldn't risk losing that class of Servant. _

_Shoving the papers into the file, Kiritsugu tossed it to another corner of the desk. _

"_And of course the third known Master is-"_

"_Kiritsugu Emiya," finished Irisviel with a grin playing at her lips, "Newest member of the Einzbern clan and their trump card. And the man I love."_

_He gave a small smile to his wife and returned to the documents at hand, his face setting harder as he came to the more serious parts of the intel he had received. _

"_However, there could be a fourth. There are rumors that a man from the Church has been selected as a Master. And if it's true, it's going to be…troubling"_

"_Troubling? How so? And he's from the Church?"_

"_His name is Kotomine Kirei, son of the Judge, Kotomine Risei the high-priest. He studied under Tohsaka Tokiomi for three years but split with him recently. Intel speculates that it could be because he had received Command Spells."_

"_I see," responded Iri slowly to the information, "But what's wrong?"_

"_This is his personal history," he said as he pulled a page from the clipped stack, "Read it"_

_She took the paper and read aloud, "Kotomine Kirei. Followed his father Risei on a pilgrimage since childhood. Graduated from the School of Divinity, in Manresa. Skipped two years due to academic excellence… and graduated as valedictorian? Oh my, that's rather impressive."_

_"Indeed," he nodded, "But the strangeness begins here. He suddenly leaves the primrose path and volunteers for the Holy Church. Why would someone like that work for one of the Church's secret organizations?"_

_"For his father, possibly?" suggested Irisviel, "Look, it says he's a member of the Church's Eigth Sacrament Assembly, like his father."_

"_So why not pursue that path from the start? Why waste his time changing places in the Church three times before sticking to that position? He was even an Executor of the highest class at some point, and I can't imagine someone like that deciding to be a desk-jockey as his end goal."_

"_An…Executor?" his wife questioned, the unfamiliar English word stumbling across her lips._

"_A heretic hunter. Basically…" he gave a self-derisive smile, "what I used to be. A Magus-Killer. A man who hunts Sealing Designates, Dead Apostles, and other blasphemies of God."_

_Irisviel looked over at her husband for a few moments as he got out of his chair and turned to pace to the window. He noticed that the snow had stopped falling._

"_This Kotomine Kirei frightens me. Such a man…he's never experienced passion in his entire life. He doesn't believe in anything. He probably doesn't even have a wish he wants to be granted. A man like that…I don't understand why he would go for the Grail. Achemy, Necromancy, Summoning, Divination, Healing. He's studied everything. He tries so hard at it, and then on the brink of Mastery, abandons ship and goes to another type. It's like he's never satisfied with what he learns, he treats knowledge like trash."_

"_But…" Irisviel questioned hesitantly, "the Grail chose him as one of the Masters." _

"_Exactly the problem," he affirmed, "He must have some reason to covet the Grail. But I have no idea what it may be. I have no way to predict his actions…he's dangerous"_

_He concluded his words quietly. _

"_And speaking of unpredictability," he said again, turning back towards his wife, "What are the Matou doing?"_

"_Eh?"_

"_Those selected by the Grail only occur after the three main families have received their Command Spells and selected as Masters. The Matou line must have received these Spells. So who?" _

"_That is a good question…"_

_Kiritsugu returned to his desk and opened another folder, this time containing information related to the Matou line. They were one of the three founding families of the Grail. Their clan head was still alive from the initial establishment of the system, Matou Zouken. A man who used a form of Black Magic to create a body and continually transported his soul from one body to another, "living" for more than three hundred years. Old man Acht had described how Zouken's wish was to gain an eternally youthful soul. Even though his body could be replaced, the Matou head's soul would not. As he aged so did his soul and his multiple bodies would always reflect the situation of the defunct soul. It was an obvious wish, but a powerful one. Immortality was a cursed apple that many wished to eat. So if the war was occurring, where was this man's participant? _

"_Maybe it's…Matou Kariya?" Irisviel read the foreign name over his shoulder. _

_The Magus-Killer shook his head, "Not possible. The man isn't a Magus to begin with, even if he has some semblance of ability. He was a freelance reporter, recently hired as an economic journalist by the CNN. He's taking a business trip to Paris if I remember correctly."_

_He blinked; Paris was the same location that Tohsaka Aoi and her children were going to._

"_In addition Zouken's oldest son has no magical ability to speak off what-so-ever. Jubstacheit has said that the blood line is losing its magic ability. Kariya ran off as soon as he finished high school to avoid learning magic and being bound to the family. They recently had a new member of the family; Zouken's grand-son was born six years ago. His legal name is Matou Shinji. Child is extremely talented. With a high number of circuits and od pool count. Though how they managed to get this lucky is beyond me. His mother died during delivery under strange conditions in Shinto Hospital Center. Nurses and doctors have all been hypnotized probably. Zouken almost certainly fiddled with the pregnancy and tried to ensure that the boy had the greatest chance of obtaining magical power. Wouldn't put it past him with the invasive worm magic he has."_

_Irisviel shuddered at the thought. She recently had a child as well (not exactly gave birth, but still a child from her nonetheless) and the image of a baby losing its mother tore her heart, even more so with the fact that it was the grandfather that did her in. _

"_Either way, the child will obviously take over the clan at some point. But he is far too young to fight in the Grail War. So who…"_

_Irisviel said nothing as she walked to her husband and hugged him from behind, nuzzling her face into his wide back. _

"_It's alright," she whispered, "Whoever it is. Whoever you will face, will never stop you. I believe in you."_

_~\*/*\*/*\*/~_

"_I can't believe they found this, and in ruins of Cornwall of all places. I was sure the relic would have ended up in Scotland or the Middle East thanks to the Moguls during that era."_

_Kiritsugu spoke with a bit of disbelief and awe as he stared upon the blue and golden object in front of him. _

"_Hehe," Iri giggled at her husband's reaction, "I'm guessing you're impressed with what great-grand father has given you?"_

"_Exceedingly," he nodded, "Even after 1,500 years there isn't a single scratch. Makes you wonder if it really is the holy scabbard to the legendary blade."_

"_The object itself is a type of Conceptual Weapon. It's an object that comes into existence based around an idea, so it doesn't rust or degrade like normal physical objects do. As long as the idea is resolute and still feasible the object will exist as well. Just like in the legends, the Fae made it so it heals the bearer's wounds and stops them from aging. Of course, this only occurs if the original owner is supplying it with the prana."_

"_In other words, it can be used in tandem with its summoned Heroic Spirit to protect its Master," he stated, "The Once and Future King, huh?"_

"_That's just like you," Irisviel said cheekily, as she turned to watch him walk down the steps of the altar to sit in of the wooden seats among the numerous rows within the Einzbern Chapel, "A tool is always a tool, right?"_

"_That goes for Servants too. No matter how famous the Heroic Spirit is, a Servant is nothing but a summoned tool within its Master's arsenal. More powerful than conventional ones sure, but still a tool. Anyone who lets their fantasies get ahead of them will never emerge from this battle victorious."_

"_Great-grandfather seems to agree with you. With thinking like that, this relic was just the right match. I'm jealous almost." The woman pouted mockingly in false anger. _

"_Ha!" he laughed, "I wonder about that"_

"_Oh?" Iri blinked sneakily, playing along, "It seems that you aren't satisfied with the present?"_

"_Not at all. Acht did very well. I doubt any of the other Masters have a trump card this powerful."_

"_Then I don't see the problem"_

"_Given how perfectly connected this relic is to its owner, the Heroic Spirit we're after will surely respond to the summons. It's almost guaranteed that we will summon the King of Knights, Arthur Pendragon. How compatible I am with him is the real concern."_

"_But as the wielder of Excalibur, surely he must be the strongest of the Saber-class? His legend has spread and taken many forms throughout the centuries."_

"_Yes. I will have the strongest Servant, a Saber as well, the class that has seen victory in the Holy Grail War the most times. The question is how to use that power. In terms of ease of use, Caster or Assassin would be a better match for me."_

"_All I see is you losing confidence Kiritsugu," Irisviel said playfully, "What ever shall you accomplish if you're worried before even summoning him? We know what the King of Knights was like, he will surely agree with your ideal. Just like me."_

_She ran a pale hand across the perfect surface of Avalon, the scabbard that had granted King Arthur immortality. Suddenly Kiritsugu stood up from his seat, the creaking of the wooden chair causing Irisviel to turn around. _

"_What?"_

"_I figured out my strategy, the best way to use the best Servant."_

_~\*/*\*/*\*/~_

_The circle had been prepared. Kiritsugu had spent ten laborious hours using laser measurement and other high precision tools to mark out the summoning circle on the floor near the altar. He didn't need to be this accurate with the shapes, for the summoning wasn't done via the circle but through the Grail. The Grail brought a copy of the soul of the Heroic Spirit from the Throne of Heroes and then fused them with a Servant Core and finally given physical form as dictated by the soul that had fused with the core. As a Master his only job was to be the power source that aided in anchoring the Servant to exist in the world as Gaia would continually be trying to eradicate an existence that shouldn't naturally be present in the current plane. _

"_Looks good," he said standing up and inspecting his work one last time. Jubstacheit had come down half an hour ago to look at the runic circle and had said it was perfect. "Iri, would you please place the catalyst upon the altar? With that it should be finished"_

_Irisviel had been behind him the entire time, holding Avalon closely to her body. She nodded once and silently walked over to the altar and gently placed down the scabbard on the white cloth upon the altar. She stepped lightly over to an area beside the altar to watch as he began the summoning magic._

_He took a deep breath, held out his right hand, and started chanting:_

"_**Silver and steel be the essence.  
>Let stone and the archdukes of contracts be the foundation.<br>Let black be the color I pay tribute to.  
>Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall.<br>Let the four cardinal gates close.  
>Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate<strong>_

_**Let it be declared now;  
>you're flesh shall serve under me, and my fate shall be with your sword.<br>Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail.  
>Answer, if you would submit to this will and this truth. <strong>_

_**An oath shall be sworn here.  
>I shall attain all virtues of all of Heaven;<br>I shall have dominion over all the evils of all of Hell."**_

_The more he spoke, the more light poured out from the circle in front of him, wind being kicked up as the prana generated by the circle stated affecting the material world. At its climax the walls and beams around the chapel started to creak. The circle started glowing even brighter as the prana became so thick it was visible. Random flashes of electricity arced across the floor followed with the occasional whiff of ozone. And it was getting brighter. His coat started to flap violently as the winds formed by the spell grew stronger near the end._

_A flash of light blinded him momentarily as a cold breeze not unlike the temperature outside the Einzbern castle fell over him. Mist that covered his line of sight wafted away slowly._

_Kiritsugu opened his eyes as he realized that he had summoned Saber successful and focused on the new figure._

_Wait a second…_

"_Who…"_

"_I ask of you," a new voice resounded through the chapel, echoing off the white washed stone and rose colored stained glass windows._

"_Are you my Master?" __**she**__ finished_

_King Arthur, the Once and Future King of Briton, the King of Knights, the epitome of chivalry, whose legend propagated throughout the world with his deeds and his sword Excalibur…_

…_was a girl!? _

_~\*/*\*/*\*/~_

"_Okay! I'm not losing today!" a tiny voice yelled into the stagnant woods. Illyasviel von Einzbern age seven was on a warpath. Kiritsugu followed behind her with bemused grin itching at his lips. He watched as her adorable face crunched up in concentration as her red eyes scanned the tree branches with a gaze that would make snipers and birds of prey alike proud._

"_Oh? Would you look at that," the father said as he stopped walking, "Found one already."_

"_No way!" Illya ran up to him, "Where? Where! I'm pretty sure I didn't miss any!"_

_Flashing a smirk he bent down to her height and pointed upward at a branch with a white bud hanging out lazily. _

"_That's today's first walnut bud," he said with a finality that made his daughter's mouth hang open in shock, "Guess I'm in the lead with one point."_

"_I….I won't lose!" she pointed at him and ran off as fast as her diminutive legs could take her._

_It didn't take her long to find the elusive walnut bud._

"_Ha! Illya has found one too!"_

"_But I already found two!"_

"_What?!"_

_She ran back and stared at the strange plant part that her father was indicating._

"_This isn't a walnut branch," she said, confusion ringing with every syllable._

"_Ah, but you see," he said with a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth, "It's a wingnut. Wingnut's are similar to walnuts, and thus is a walnut. Three points to me"_

"_Not fair!" she screamed and stomped her foot in the snow and wriggled, "Not fair! Not fair! Not fair! Not fair! Not fair! Stop cheating Kiritsugu!"_

"_But Daddy has no chance of winning otherwise."_

"_No one wants to play with cheaters!" _

_Touché, Kiritsugu thought. _

"_Ah! Madame, how you wound me so!" he said, acting as if the shame and hurt was paining him physically, "I apologize. I apologize."_

_Illyasviel looked at him suspiciously with one eye open and tiny arms crossed._

"_Do you promise not to cheat anymore?" _

"_I promise…mostly" he spoke the later portion in a small whisper, a small grin playing at his lips. _

"_Very well, I shall …wait, what was that second part!?"_

"_Nothing," he answered quickly._

"_Hmph," she pouted, "I shall accept your apology and challenge. A champion takes on all challengers after all."_

"_I am deeply honored Ojou-sama," he said in mock reverence as he kneeled and held his right palm to his chest. An idea came to his mind as he quickly grabbed his daughter and placed her on his shoulders._

"_Waaah! We're so high up!" she squealed in delight at the vantage point she was given._

"_Let us embark on an adventure of wonder and walnuts you're highness. We shall regale the tales of our exploits to all those with ears and a sense of taste."_

"_Hear hear!"_

_The two shared a laugh as they searched the woods for walnut buds. He spoke of nothing mostly, just answering Illya's questions and pass on his knowledge of botany and the local flora. The girl's bubbly character infecting him, making it harder to resist beaming at whatever action she did. Being a father was…good. It felt really good, Kiritsugu decided._

"_Hey, Papa" called the daughter from above her father's head, "Our next match won't be until you come home from Japan, right?"_

"_That's right," he answered, carefully stepping over a tree root. _

"_How long will your work keep you and Mommy away? When will you be back?" _

"_I'll be back in about two weeks," he answered simply, "Mommy...Mommy won't be back for a while, though"_

_A very long while. _

"_Yep, Mommy already told Illya that she'd be away for a long time."_

_Kiritsugu nearly gasped and his heart skipped a beat with every syllable she spoke._

"_She said that even if we can't see each other for a long time, she'd always be by my side. So she told me I shouldn't feel lonely before I went to bed."_

_A blade stabbed through his heart._

"_I'm gonna be together with Mommy forever and ever!"_

_Followed by another that pierced into that accursed organ. _

"_I see," he said and stopped his steps. Kneeling down Kiritusugu let his daughter come off her perch among his shoulders. She was about to run off before she noticed his face. He had a dark expression that she sometimes had seen him wear when he was reading in his office late at night. It didn't scare her to see it, but she was always apprehensive about it. She didn't think it went well with him at all. _

"_Listen Illya," he said a sad smile on his face as he reached his arms around her small body and hugged her tightly._

"_Daddy?" _

"_Can you wait for me? Even if you're lonely, can you hold on until I come home?"_

"_Yeah!" _

"_It's a promise then. I'll come home straight away"_

_~\*/*\*/*\*/~_

_Kiritsugu walked up the flight of stairs to the seventh floor of "The 24-Hour Hotel in Fuyuki." Nondescript, non questioning owners, and people who kept to their own devices stayed here throughout the year. Stepping out of the stairwell he looked at a sign indicating the locations of the room numbers and immediately took a left turn down a long hallway. _

"_Seven-oh-oh, seven-oh-one, seven-oh-two, seven-oh-three," he counted of as he passed the rooms, stopping at the face of the door that had a plaque signifying that this was room 703. Leaning his back against the wall, he casually rapped his knuckles against the door five times in what would seem like a casual knock to the unobservant onlookers, but in reality it was a code that only he and his partner knew. He alternated the times between hit: two quick followed by one slow, ending with two quick. _

_The door opened, revealing a small gap that a dark green eye peered out of. He nodded and looked across the hall way to make sure the coast was clear. He was trying to avoid all the security cameras and people. The less anyone saw of him the better. The door was shut and he heard a chain lock being slid off. It opened again, and with practiced efficiency, he stepped in with minimal sound. There was barely enough room, but a woman standing behind the door could be spotted catching the door as he opened it and staying still as he quickly entered with his upper body twisted sideways so that there would be enough room to slip through the small opening. She made one final check of the hallway before silently shutting the entrance and locking it._

_To reiterate: practiced efficiency._

_The woman stayed silent, trying to hear any footsteps to or from the hallway. Satisfied with the hush she turned back towards him. The room was bare, only two beds, a walk-in closet, and an old tube- TV that was on a stand that doubled as a dresser. _

"_The equipment you requested has arrived," she informed Kiritsugu. He walked up to the bed where several large suitcases were placed along with a host of weaponry. _

"_Madam and Saber have arrived as well and are making their way together," the woman strode up to him, "That way the other Master's will assume Madam is Saber's Master." _

_Now that she had come into the light it was easy to see her physical features. She was Japanese, with high cheek bones and a fair skin color that was slightly tan. Her eyes were dark green and piercing, as if she was a hawk on the prowl for prey. Her straight hair was cut to her shoulders and was similarly colored to her pupils, a darker green that seemed to be black at times. Quite simply, she fit the archetype of a denizen of the dark side. Her name was Maiya Hisau. _

"_Good" he answered. Everything was as per plan so far, and hopefully would stay that way (tempting fate of course)._

"_Something came up," she gestured to the corner of the TV stand and pressed a button on one of the many machines. _

_The TV came alive and suddenly showed surveillance footage from one of the numerous cameras she had set up around the city. The Magus-Killer squinted his eyes as he noticed the familiar Greco-Roman fountain and English flower-garden of the Tohsaka estate. _

"_There was an incident at the Tohsaka mansion. Footage was recorded around twenty-one-hundred hours"_

_He watched as a lean figure covered in black with a white mask leapt over the walls silently, black cloth trailing behind him. With acrobatic grace the person weaved in and around the numerous security boundary fields that surrounded the Tohsaka mansion with precision that a human could never have. As soon as the person came upon a stone pillar with a jewel and tried to remove it, a spear had come flying in from off camera and impaled the person's hand into the pillar. Several seconds later numerous other unidentified objects came raining down with unbelievable force turning the figure in black, and the earth beneath him, into a smoldering crater._

"_What do you think of this?" he asked as he rewound the footage to watch again. _

"_Too good to be true," Maiya said flatly, "The time span between Assassins's trespassing and the Tohsaka Servant's response is too short. A Servant of the Assassin class will undoubted have Presence Concealment, so I find it hard to believe that he was detected in advance. I think Tohsaka was expecting an intruder"_

"_In a battle among monstrosities like Servants, it's critical to conceal the identities of Heroic Spirits. Why would Tohsaka expose his Servant for all to see?"_

"_He would have to have a reason…"_

_He nodded in agreement, "Maiya, what became of Assassin's Master?"_

"_Kotomine Kirei is confirmed to be Assassin's Master and has escaped to the Church last night. The judge has decreed him under the Church's protection."_

_The gears in his brain started spinning as it processed the information. This was definitely suspicious. He would need more eyes on the Church if Kirei was there. _

"_Maiya, send a familiar to watch the Fuyuki City Church. Keep all cameras observing the building on at all times."_

"_Are you sure? Masters are forbidden from operating in the neutral zone around the Church" _

_It would be risky sending a familiar, but it would be necessary, "Keep it as close as you can without the priest noticing."_

"_Order's received and understood."_

"_Good"_

_He walked up to the bed where his armaments sat upon and went through a mental checklist. Four M67 frag-grenades? Check. Five kilos of C4 plastic explosive? Check. Though he would have to put in an order for more. Calico M950? Check. Steyr Aug A1? Check. WA-2000? Check? Thermal and ballistic sights? Check. Three Model 7290 flash bangs? Check. Really, the amount of arms the Americans could gather and smuggle into Japan with its strict gun-laws was worthy of "True Magic" status. Either that or Japan's customs was as lax as Tohsaka's security last night. _

_He inspected every weapon. The condition of the Aug's magazine and reload mechanism, the Calico's safety switch, the integrity of the flash-bang canisters, the condition of the scopes, the bolt-sled and trigger of the WA-2000. He peered down the scope of the WA-2000 and moved it around, pointing the sniper rifle at invisible foes in the room, adjusting the cheek-rest for comfort. _

"_Sir, I think you should see this," Maiya said as she indicated to the TV._

_He put the gun down and looked at the screen. It showed the front of the Church in the after-noon sun-light, bathed by the beams and almost glowing. As if on cue a girl who seemed to the age of a teenager by her height and size started walking down the stone path to the front entrance. Not exactly walking, she skipped in small hops. _

_And that black thing followed behind her. _

"_What…is that?" he found himself asking softly. _

_There was a swirling mass of black smoke following the girl like a chick to mother hen. It was tall, easily a few heads taller than the girl. He could barely make out anything else. The quality of the cameras live footage not making it any easier, but he saw a flash of metal on the…thing's…arms and legs. Was it armor? He couldn't tell. The thing seemed to lag behind the girl, causing the female to turn around and look at it, the microphone only picking up brief sounds of exclamation. But at one point her entire face had been caught by the camera. After a few moments the black smoke…thing…seemed to nod and follow the girl in._

"_Maiya, I want you to remaster the footage and get a facial recognition of the girl ASAP."_

"_Right away."_

_He turned away, but paused before facing her again, "Where is the thing I left with you?"_

"_Top left of the closet, brown leather box"_

_Locating the box quickly he opened the latches to reveal an iron and wood gun. It had a long black barrel and worn wooden barrel. His trusty Thompson Contender, a Mystic Code his adopted mother had gotten made for him decades ago. The weapon was hand-cannon of sorts, firing a powerful .335 mm round that was meant to drop big-game in one shot. The tradeoff was that it had no magazine; it was of the fire once-and-reload variety. He quickly flicked the gun downwards and pressed a button on the side with his index finger, causing the barrel to detach and tilt forward, revealing a bullet casing. He dropped the casing and inserted another round and flicked it back up, returning the barrel to its original position, and moved into a firing stance._

"_About two seconds," he said aloud, "I'm surprised." It had been nearly eight years since he had needed to touch the gun; the fact that reloading the hand-canon took only two seconds was unexpected. _

"_Yes," Maiya observed. _

"_You know," Kiritsugu trailed as he placed the gun back within the leather case and snapped it shut, "Illya weighs less than that Walter. She's almost eight. And yet…"_

_**(A/N: he's referring to the WA-2000)**_

_Hands softly encircled his neck. He stood up and found Maiya's face only a few inches away from his own, her arms around the back of his head. _

"_Focus only on what matters now," she intoned, speaking words that she knew her rescuer needed to hear to move forward with the operation. She closed the distance between them slowly and placed her lips on his. _

"_Don't think about anything else," she whispered as she separated._

_She leaned in again, without any resistance from his part. _

_The Magus-Killer had ordered this, a form of self-hypnosis that would steel his spine and allow him to continue._

_~\*/*\*/*\*/~_

_Kiritsugu could tell from his view on the bridge in the western warf that the fight against Lancer had taken a bad turn. Even he was surprised at the thought of a Servant having __**two**__Noble Phantasms. Such an oversight had cost Saber the use of her left wrist, and effectively harmed her combat potential. Damn that Lancer to hell; exposing Saber's sword and managing to land a permanent and debilitating wound to Saber. Gae Buidhe he had called it, a spear that landed a curse upon each wound making them impossible to be healed from unless the spear was destroyed. _

"_A red spear that negates magic, a cursed yellow spear, and a mole that enchants women beneath the right eye," spoke Saber, "First of the Knights of Fianna, Diarmuid of the Radiant Face. I never dreamed I would have the honor of facing you."_

_Diarmuid? Well that was the problem of the identity of the enemy servant solved. The Master of Saber peered through his scope at the two warriors who had stopped fighting for an exchange of words._

"_It's all thanks to the Holy Grail War," responded Lancer playfully, "But really, it is I who is honored here. No Heroic Spirit summoned by the Holy Grail could ever mistake that golden blade."_

_The handsome Servant spun his Spear and deftly placed it under his armpit, pointing a finger at Saber and spoke with reverent words, "To face the legendary King of Knights and land even a single blow, I must be pretty skilled myself. Now that we both know each other's names we can duel honorably, as knights."_

_Noticing Saber's impassive face Lancer gave a small laugh, "Or are you upset that this is happening after you lost an arm, Saber?"_

"_Do not ridicule me," the woman-knight spoke and re-summoned her armor with a gush of wind and light, "It is humiliating that you would be concerned over a scratch on my person."_

_The answer made Lancer smile gleefully. Both warriors moved into their respective stances, waiting for the other to strike as tension filled the air._

"_Very well then!" Diarmuid exclaimed, "Prepare yourself, Saber. I'll get you this this time."_

"_Only if I do not strike you down first, Lancer," Saber bit back. _

_Kiritsugu tightened his grip on his sniper rifle. He couldn't afford Lancer to damaged Saber in anyway; the Magus-Killer needed to be true to his name and take out Lancer's Master right now. Pulling his eye away from the scope he was about to change positions when a rush of air and resounding thunder stopped him. And did he hear…hooves?_

_A flash of lightning struck between the two Servants, causing both to jump back in surprise as asphalt and dirt sailed into the air. _

"_ALALALALALALALALALALALLLOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII"_

_A war-cry broke the night as Kiritsugu could only stare with blank astonishment as a chariot surrounded by lightning came down from the night sky and land roughly in the battlefield, separating Lancer and Saber. The smell of ozone rushed at him and caused his trigger finger to pause. The chariot was large, and was sat upon by an equally large, muscular man with red hair and brown skin The oxen pulling the chariot snorted and huffed as their master beamed a toothy smile and opened his arms wide. Kiritsugu noticed a smaller man situated next to the larger one, with a frightened expression coloring his pale face._

"_Both of you sheathe your blades!" the man yelled, "You are in the presence of a king! I am Iskandar, King of Conquers, of the Rider class for this Grail War!"_

_Kiritsugu resisted the urge to slam his palm upon his face at the happenings he was seeing through the scope. Rider had come down, interrupted a battle that would have saved him from fighting on opponent, exposed himself and his Master, and even revealed his identity. And did the Servant just flick the adjacent boy's forehead? Must be his Master. _

_What in the world…_

"_Sir, did he just-" Maiya's confused voice came over the radio._

"_Yes…yes he did," he answered with a sigh._

_It was no matter, they had a war to win and an idiotic Servant and Master pair would only be all the easier to kill. _

"_Fate has brought us together to fight for the Grail," Rider spoke with a voice that contained so much charisma even Saber forgot what she was doing momentarily, "But first there is something I must ask…"_

_Rider pumped both fists to his side and puffed his chest to accentuate his impressive build._

"…_yield the Grail to me, and join my army!"_

_Saber blinked._

"_I will treat you both as my friends and we shall share in the joy of world conquest together!" _

_There was a pregnant pause of utter disbelief from all people present, as well embarrassed silenced from Rider's Master as he laid on the floor of the chariot clutching his forehead and writhing in pain._

"_I'm afraid…" Lancer answered, shaking his head in a what-ever-shall-we-do-with-you manner, "…I'll have to decline. I will give the Grail to only one man: my new avowed Lord. Not to you Rider."_

_Rider didn't even flinch at the murderous stare Lancer was giving him._

"_So you disturbed our battle merely to propose that ridiculous plan?" Saber spoke with disdain, "As, a knight this is an unforgivable insult."_

_Rider again shrugged off another gaze of killing intent and merely grinded his fist into the side of his head._

"_I'd be willing to discuss terms," he offered. _

"_SHUT UP!" Saber and Lancer yelled in unison, startling Rider._

_Rider's face became downtrodden as he realized his plan for world domination wouldn't be so straight forward. _

"_Besides," elaborated Saber, "I myself am a king responsible for Briton's well-being. No matter how great a fellow king you may be, I cannot lower myself to the rank of a subject."_

"_King of Britain, you say!?" exclaimed Rider. "What a surprise! I didn't expect the King of Knights to be a little girl"_

_The air chilled as Saber gave a withering glare to Rider. "Would you perhaps, like the taste of cold steel in your throat from this here __little girl__? King of Conquerors?" Her tone and face ensured that there would be blood and promised a painful death. _

_Rider sighed heavily as his Master finally seemed to regain enough composure to raise himself from the floor of the chariot. "Seems like negotiations have failed," breathed the red-haired Servant, "What a waste! What a shame!"_

"_RIDER!" the boy cried pounding on the cape of the larger-than-life man. _

_He barely had any idea that he was being targeted by Kiritsugu's sniper rifle._

_The distance between him and the target was nearly four hundred and fifty meters. Easy pickings for the WA-2000, and almost guaranteed that Rider's Master would be killed, the WA-2000 was semi-automatic so he could lay down follow up shots with confidence and a good rate of fire. However, such a course of action would be a bad idea; the Master was right next to the Servant. _

"_That moron nearly conquered the world?" he asked into the two-way radio. He heard Maiya respond with a small chuckle._

"_So it was you of all people." Another voice spoke and the very air around the Miama River wharf vibrated, "I wonder what madness compelled you to steal my relic. Seriously, I never expected that you were planning on entering the Holy Grail War yourself. Waver Valvet."_

_So the boy's name was Waver Valvet? And that voice belonged to Kayneth. The two had a relationship of sorts? And the boy stole Kayneth's original catalyst? Kiritsugu filed the information away deep within his tactical mind._

"_Perhaps I'll have to give you some extra lessons as a special case. The true meaning of Magi killing one another." The said man walked into plain view from behind a steam exhaust pipe. "I'll teach you about fear and the pain involved. You should feel honored."_

_Ah, so they were student and teacher? Interesting. _

_Kiristugu listened as Rider defended his Master's bravery and glancing insults to the cowardice of Archibald. _

"_And I'm sure there are more of you watching from the shadows!"_

_The Magus-Killer's hands stiffened as Rider blatantly called himself and many others out in a direct challenge. He didn't have time to think as a glow of golden light erupted in the sky, garnering the attention of the Servants. Slowly a human form materialized in the air, in seconds a man with blonde hair, red eyes, and clad in golden armor appeared before them and floated down to stand straight on the head of a street lamp._

"_In a single night, two insolent knaves dare to call themselves kings in my presence," the newly revealed one spoke condescendingly._

"_You are mistaken." Rider pounded his chest. "I'm Iskander, the legendary King of Conquerors himself. In the flesh."_

"_Nonsense," dismissed the man in golden armor. "I am the one and only Hero King of these heavens and Earth. The rest of you are merely curs fighting for what is truly mine."_

"_Is that so!?" Rider shot back and pointed at him. "Then why don't you reveal your name! No true king would be ashamed of his own name!"_

"_Are you…questioning me? Mongrel?" the other man said his voice containing a rage that grew with every syllable. "ME? THE KING?!"_

_The light fixture beneath him broke from the force of his words alone._

"_If you cannot discern my identity even in the presence of my glory, then your ignorance shall result in death!"_

_From behind the man the air shimmered as golden waves suddenly became a plane. Objects started piercing out from the golden wall, each producing a ripple in the air like a stone when dropped in a still pool of water. With a cold smirk the man in gold aimed the two weapons hanging in the air at the offending Rider._

"_That," Kiritsugu stated into his radio, "is his Noble Phantasm" _

_Rider looked the golden-man right in the eyes while his Master cowered behind him._

_Suddenly there was a flash of black wind and smoke that caught everyone off guard. As if sprouting from shadows another figure stood and screamed an unearthly roar. The smoke whirled around him at times, revealing silvery armor that enshrouded it, all one could see with certainty were blood red lights emanating from the thin line visor. The armor was different from the fine honed and beautiful rounded lines of Saber's armor or the lavish and gaudy armor of the man who stood atop the lamp. His appearance was bone-chilling. Could this really be a Heroic Spirit? What Hero had an appearance so sinister? The thing roared again. _

"_Beserker?" asked Saber stepping backwards to cover Irisviel. _

"_Hey, King of Conquerors." chided Lancer, "Aren't you going to extend an invitation for splendid conquest to our mad-friend here?"_

"_Invite him?" examined Rider as he gave Servant of Madness an once-over, "He doesn't seem terribly interested in negotiating to begin with."_

"_Sir!" Maiya exclaimed in a harsh whisper into her transceiver. "That Servant! It was following that girl!"_

"_Confirmed, we need to plan this out slowly, watch for any other enemy Master movement!" Kiritsugu replied._

"_Roger."_

_He switched scopes, going for the nigh-vision instead of the thermal. He tried to cast a basic Clairvoyance spell, a skill granted to all Masters to able to tell a Servants basic parameters on the black Servant through the scope, in an attempt to gauge the enemy warrior's stats. However he saw nothing, the black smoke seemed to block the Servant from the spell. _

"_Why did it materialize now?" asked Maiya, her voice crackling over the static._

"_No sane Master would choose to send out his or her Servant amidst all this chaos," he thought aloud, "Gives us insight into the girl we saw. Maiya continue to watch Assassin, inform me if there are any movements. I'll look for Berserker's Master."_

_Down below him Berserker looked up at the man in gold with rapt attention. By process of elimination and common sense it would be obvious to say that the golden armored man was an Archer. Did Berserker's Master order the Servant to fight Archer? _

"_Who gave you permission to gaze upon me, rapid dog?" Archer's eyes narrowed as the wall of light behind him rotated so that the weapons were aiming right at Berserker, "May your blood and scattered entrails entertain me, mongrel."_

_As Archer spat out those words in disgust the two weapons behind the Servant flew at breakneck speeds at Berserker. The resulting explosion as they met their mark caused concrete and smoke to obscure the scope of the rifle he was looking through, luckily the wind was blowing fast enough to dispel the offending cloud and reveled a still standing Berserker. _

_Lancer looked on in astonishment. "Is that really Berserker?!" _

"_Very versatile for a madman lost in madness and unable to think," commented Rider._

_Archer looked even more angered at the sight of Berserker holding one of his blades. His face twisted and marred his elegant features, "How dare you lay your filthy hands on my treasures…you must really want to die. DOG!"_

_The wall of gold and ripples in the air expanded, sixteen weapons poking out of the air. There weren't just swords and spears, but also axes and halberds. Even a human like Kiritsugu felt the power emanating from them, each of those weapons was equivalent to a Noble Phantasm in strength, some even more powerful. The weapons exited the wall in a staggered fashion, Kiritsugu human eyes weren't able to comprehend the speed at which weapons and Berserker were moving at. Explosions echoed loudly and smoke started to rise again, pierced briefly by a flash of lightning creating fissures in the pavement._

_Events came back into focus when two blades came spinning out of the black cloud, cutting the lamp post Archer was standing on, forcing the Servant to fall down to the ground as the crates behind him exploded from the impact with the Noble Phantasms. _

_Kiritsugu's eyes widened as he realized that Berserker had just endured an onslaught of sixteen Noble Phantasms by himself. Without a scratch. _

"_You…how dare you…" Archer's shoulders trembled and he whirled around "HOW DARE YOU MAKE ME STAND ON THE SAME GROUND AS YOU?! I, WHO BELONG AMONGST THE HEAVENS!"_

_With a flash suddenly the golden wall reappeared, enveloping a ten meter length behind Archer. _

"_What the hell?!" exclaimed Kiritsugu._

"_YOUR IMPUDENCE HAS SEALED YOUR ETERNAL DOOM! NOTHING WILL REMAIN OF YOUR CORPSE, MONGREL!"_

_The Magus-Killer rapidly counted thirty-two Noble Phantasms. All the Servants their felt it, the power of Archer. Even if Berserker could hold off sixteen Noble Phantasms, thirty two was double that. It was impossible; no one Servant could do it. _

_Suddenly Archer's face changed expressions and seemed to grumble at the sky. The golden wall behind him disappeared as fast as it had come and Archer had left with words Kiritsugu couldn't catch. With a flash of glowing particles, the enemy Servant had retreated. _

"_It would appear the Master isn't as stubborn as Archer is," Rider grumbled._

_The Master of Saber was going to sigh but the breath of air was caught in his chest as suddenly Berserker ran, grabbed the broken pipe of the lamp pole and launched itself at Saber with immense speed. Jumping up and slamming the pipe downward in a swing with force akin to an avalanche, Berserkers helmeted face was centimeters from Arthuria's. Saber managed to pull up a block briefly. She dodged one stab of the pole and managed to slide the length of the steel cylinder along her invisible sword with the second jab0p-0p, forcing the two into a stalemate. _

"_Is that..?" she asked as she looked along the pole, seeing red veins traveling along the make-shift weapon._

_Saber was caught off guard as Berserker suddenly forced the pole-arm downward, causing her already-weakened grip to falter. She dropped the angle of her sword and allowed the makeshift lance to slide off, quacking spinning in place to gain momentum for a heavy handed swing at the exposed ribs of Berserker. Her invisible sword loudly smashed against Berserker's pipe causing the black warrior to skid backwards, surprising Saber once again at the skill and speed that the enemy Servant had. In addition it had even been able to endure a full attack from Excalibur without damage. _

"_So his ability is to turn whatever weapon he has in his hands into a Noble Phantasm?" speculated Rider, "Quite useful."_

_The King of Knights silently cursed as her grip was only hindering her in this fight. The enemy servant was easily faster and stronger than her, and being debilitated from the only area where she could overcome him, skill, was another nail in her coffin._

"_Well Maiya," Kiritsugu asked into the radio, "Can you see Berserker's Master?" _

"_No I cannot," she replied in the negative. _

"_This is bad." He spat, "Damn it."_

_Below them Saber was on the defensive, only being able to parry the blows. She was growing frustrated, in a head-on conflict she couldn't hope to match Berserker one handed. Their exchange of blows reaffirmed that this man was skillful, even under madness and devoid of thought. His skill was part of his legend then, part of who he is._

"_Who exactly are you!?"_

_With the noise of steel being cut, Lancer joined the fray, slicing the end of the pole just enough so that it harmlessly arced past Saber. _

"_Rather shameful" spat Lancer, "That you would try to steal my opponent from me! That's enough messing around, Saber has unfinished business with me. I'll have to take direct action if you intend to go any further."_

_Berserker didn't even seem to be listening, inspecting his suddenly shorter weapon with a child-like look. _

"_Then we are in accordance!" yelled the voice of Archibald, "I command you Lancer, to aid Saber and defeat Berserker."_

_Kiritsugu found himself nodding in agreement. Berserker was the biggest wildcard of the war, a Servant with unparalleled stats and skill to fend off sixteen Noble Phantasm's without as much as a single scratch. Even with Saber at full health he doubted she could hold up long without using her own Noble Phantasm. Having a two-versus-one situation was ideal and would help end Berserker. As long as this Servant was killed their problems would cease, for the Servant was the issue here not the Master. Lancer gave a wicked smile and set in a stance with a silent nod from Saber. Berserker noticed their looks and lowered his own make-shift Noble Phantasm in response, letting loose a feral roar cry. _

_~\*/*\*/*\*/~_

_Unable to help himself Kiritsugu gave into his desires and slowly pulled out a pack of cigarettes. The stress of yesterday night finally bearing down on him as his brain was craving nicotine. His last bastions of discipline absolutely wrecked he quickly flipped the top and took out a white and orange tube of death conveniently packaged in a handheld form. He lit it with a small fire spell, unable to be bothered to take the lighter out of his pocket. He took two long drags and let the jitters finally dispel._

_Saber and Lancer were barely able to match Berserker, the simple task of taking the black monster at close range was a problem. The Servant was faster than Lancer and stronger than Saber, its Master supplying it with so much prana that Kiritsugu could have sworn that the beast couldn't be real. Lancer's red spear periodically pierced the black smoke that clouded Berserker but it never fully revealed the enemy Servant, so now weaknesses could be discovered. _

_All in all, last night was absolute, utter, fucking shit. _

_Kiritsugu mentally apologized to Natalia for cursing. _

"_Sir," said Maiya, walking up from the computer desk of the hotel room, "I found something."_

_Kiritsugu switched the hand the cigarette was in and accepted the pamphlet his assistant offered._

"_I believe this is the Master of Berserker," she informed. _

_He flipped past the cover page to a basic bios. His eyes settling on the picture of the face of the teenage girl he had seen at the Church. She was pretty, he couldn't deny that. The girl had pure silvery white hair with brushes of pink in the right light. Her eyes were a startling ice blue. And that smile sent invisible shivers down his spine. It was positively dreadful for its pure honesty. This girl gave no cares to who died and who lived as long as it was amusing, even her own suffering was forfeit. _

_She reminded him of Kirei for some reason. _

"_Name," he asked his assistant, his voice devoid of emotion. The person in the mug shot would be the one he would eventually kill, no need to developing those ugly emotions. _

"_Manaka. Sajyou Manaka," answered Maiya with equal levels of feelings. She walked up to him and tapped a section on the bottom right of the first page with her long index finger._

_The Sajyou were old Formal-craft family whose ancestors could be traced back to the shamans during the Era of the Warring States. On top of that she was a prodigy at the age of fifteen. Manaka submitted a thesis to the Clock Tower at eleven years detailing a method to gain prana from converting the life energy of plants and animals into magical energy that would be as potent as small quantities of od but without using the casters own internal energy in the process. The technique was rather verbose and tough to handle correctly by all magi (in addition to producing minimal energy) but nonetheless even the blue bloods of the Clock Tower could acknowledge the usefulness of such a method and had granted her family minor nobility within the Clock Tower for their efforts. The peerage went without conflict to his surprise and they were now a well-known family within Fuyuki. An interesting bit was they had refused to ask for permission from the Tohsaka to set up a workshop, citing that the Sajyou would never bend to the will of "the westernized usurpers" of their land. A possible slight he could use to have the two sides engage in battle when necessary._

"_This is rather…stimulating," Kiritsugu commented. The explanation of Sajyou's magic could be the reason for Berserker's seemingly unhindered battle time and prowess. With her Formal Craft magic spell to siphon enhanced mana and her own high levels of od, Sajyou Manaka was no longer the bottle-neck to her Servants performance, bypassing one of the detriments of the Berserker class in their prana-guzzling attribute. _

_Kiritsugu glanced at the clock and waved at Maiya. She nodded quickly and grabbed a duffel bad near the entrance of the room. Kiritsugu stood up as well._

_He had a hotel to drop._

_~\*/*\*/*\*/~_

_The crosshairs of the thermal scope of the WA-2000 bounced lightly around the silhouette of a man on the other side of the bay, nearly a kilometer off. Kiritsugu breathed softly and inhaled, adjusting his shoulders as the movement of the center line bobbed less. _

"_Wind speed is thirteen kilometers per hour south by south east," he exhaled, "Turbulences downfield negligible. Two clicks to the left, three clicks adjustment for distance." _

_It was a sniper's habit to speak aloud the adjustments as they were done in the field, to reinforce the marksman's minds so that they don't make a mistake. Kiritsugu used his left hand to turn the scope dials, the image he was seeing unhindered but the micro corrections of the barrel allowed for proper bullet flight trajectory. _

"_Taking shot."_

_He placed his left arm across the ground perpendicular to the rifle that was resting on a bipod on floor of a commercial boat. His WA-2000 was silenced, increasing the barrel into an even more intimidating length. He held his breath and felt his heartbeat pound his body. Proper form dedicated that a marksmen take shots in-between heartbeats, and Kiritsugu was cursed from birth with high-blood pressure and developing hyper-tension (smoking cigarettes did nothing to help this). _

_So the only solution was to take diltiazem. A drug that reduced heart-rate, and he took as much as he physically could, lowering his diastole to a cool 43 beats per minute. Just enough so that he wouldn't die. _

_His right index-finger touched the trigger and as soon as he felt the wind falter for half a second and coincide with the end of a heartbeat, he pressed it. _

_An armor piercing round flew through the air and penetrated through the abdomen, his target falling to the ground. And to Kiritsugu's annoyance, still alive. _

"_Adjusting for target movement and surface movement," he spoke to himself again, "Five clicks right, wo clicks down. Taking shot."_

_In a matter of seconds the scope and barrel had been aligned. He quickly pressed the trigger and was rewarded with the Master of Caster's head sprouting a hole the width of a thumb in the middle of his forehead and tumbling to the ground limp._

_Headshot. _

_Kiritsugu stood up and grabbed the radio from his coats pocket and spoke into it, Maiya already on the other side waiting. "I've shot down the man we believed to be Caster's Master. Looks like we were right."_

"_While the Servants are dealing with the monster, shall we eliminate the next target?" Maiya suggested._

"_Wait Maiya," he warned, "That's no mere monster. It's an immortal creature, infinitely regenerative. It will reach shore before it vanishes. If it starts feeding it's all over. With a new source of mana, Caster can sustain materialization."_

"_And the damage would spread," concluded his partner, "The Holy Grail War itself may need to be abandoned."_

"_That's correct."_

"_But how do we defeat an immortal monster?" _

_Question of the day. _

"_Our only option is to exterminate it one go. Destroy every centimeter in a single strike. We need a Noble Phantasm not for destroying people or armies, but for fortified structures. Saber has one," he paused for a second to let Maiya process the information and to look at the giant kraken-like creature on the bay. "However Lancer's curse leaves her unable to use it. I think…I'll have them show us this chivalry they're so proud of."_

_He cut the line with Maiya and quickly dialed the code for Irisviel, who was with Saber on shore. After a few rings she finally picked up._

"_Iri?"_

"_N-no…" a nervous voice responded, "I mean…"_

_Sounded like Waver Velvet, Master of Rider. If he was with Iri then it must mean he was up to date with the information and aware of the circumstances. _

"_I see, you must be Rider's Master," he said confirming his thoughts, "Perfect. I wanted to talk to you too."_

"_Who are you?" the teenager._

_Rather touchy this one was._

"_Doesn't matter," he waved off with his voice, Caster's disappearance was the work of your Servant, yes?"_

"_That's right…I guess."_

"_Question. When Rider releases his Reality Marble, can he position its contents at a particular location?"_

"_To…a degree," the European boy said slowly. Kiritsugu could almost see the boy's eyes narrowing in contemplation, "Within a hundred meters or so, but it's possible as far as I'm concerned. Rider should be able to control where it will materialize."_

"_Very well," the Master of Saber responded flatly, "I'll wait for the right moment and fire a signal flare then. Release Caster right under it. Can you do it?"_

_It wasn't as much as a question as an order. They had to do it or else Fuyuki, and possibly even the world was doomed. _

"_I can…I think…probably."_

"_One more thing. I need you to relay a message to Lancer. Tell him Saber's left arm holds an Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm"_

"_Huh?!"_

_He disconnected the line. Within minutes he felt a rush of wind and magical energy wash over his body and noticed a gleam of light could be seen through the fog like a light-house. He couldn't help but crack a small smile at the sight. The folly of such pride and chivalry was and would be the end of many, but ironically today it would save billions. And all it cost him was manipulating the minds of Heroic Spirits and losing even more in the trust between his own Servant._

_Kiritsugu's job complete he quickly packed the Walter and carried the case down the ladder of the yacht into an inflatable boat. He pulled the cord of the gasoline engine, the sounds of sputtering pistons followed by pumping cylinders as the craft came to life. _

"_Still too soon," he thought as he gazed over at the water._

_The boat skipped across the tumultuous waters as he made his way to the center of the bay. Pulling on the outside of his coat he cursed as he fumbled for the flare gun. When he finally got it in his hands he looked upwards and fired. The magnesium in the bullet ignited as a ball of light above him lit up the night sky. Knowing what was coming next he hit the engine again and sped off towards shore._

_Seconds behind him the water darkened a sickening shade of purple as it reflected the colors of Caster's monster that was falling from the sky, newly materialized from Rider's Reality Marble. Kiritsugu made to the reeds of the westward swamp where he saw her._

_Saber standing between Caster and Fuyuki, her golden sword shimmering like a miniature sun. She held it above her head as golden light seemed to gather from all corners of the land and amass itself around her blade. Kiritsugu felt the wild rush of od leave his own body and flow out to his Servant, who was preparing to use her greatest weapon. _

_Saber took a single step forward, the mere foot creating a force cause a tsunami._

"_EX" she roared, "CALIBURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"_

_The name of the Holy Blade, the Most Exalted Steel, the Blessed Weapon of the Fae, was spoken with such might that it evoked the legends of thousands of years in its power. The stories passed down from generation to generation, read in books, told in narratives, idolized by children across the world took material effect as a blade of golden light shot upwards into the sky and came down. Gravity itself seemed to forget itself in awe of the spectacle, water flying up into the sky and almost hanging there as the wall of light slammed into Caster, the energized mana from Excalibur so potent that the magical energy itself became visible and forming a tower that stretched high into the air lighting Fuyuki as if dawn had come several hours earlier._

_It was beautiful. _

_~\*/*\*/*\*/~_

_He pulled the slide of the Calico, the machine pistol's metal innards sliding and snapping into place creating a sharp sound that reminded the crippled man in front of him of what was on the business end of the submachine gun. Archibald squealed silently and gave a frantic look at his fiancé who was unconscious on the ground next to Kiritsugu, the ominous "commoner" weapon pointing at her. Kiritsugu could see the wheels in the magus' mind start turning as Archibald's eyes flickered between his hand and his currently battered and bruised wife to be. How she used to be beautiful, with flowing red hair, flawless white skin, and a dazzling smirk that had set his heart aflutter. _

_The second the Magus Killer saw hesitation he knew he had won._

_In a matter of seconds Archibald signed the Geass scroll and the sound of Lancer driving his red spear through his heart could be heard throughout the ruins. A quick glance by the black-haired Japanese man to confirm that that deed was done, looking upon the downed Heroic Spirit that was clawing at the ground and blinking tears of blood. Saber looked absolutely shocked and the grip on her sword loosened for a moment._

_Check mate. _

_Kiritsugu lifted the unconscious woman and carried her over to Archibald. The man held out his own wounded arms and gratefully caressed Sola-ui. He was thinking that it was over, that finally this nightmare could end. That he and his betrothed could leave the hellish island in the East and travel back to London where they could recover, get married, grow old, and more importantly forget. _

_The Archibald couple was wheeled out into the open by Kiritusugu, in sight of Lancer. The Geass scroll falling to the ground, it's use complete. Kiritusugu stepped to the side, "The condition has been fulfilled" he said. _

_Lancer groaned, yelling words that couldn't be comprehended as he fell to the ground._

"_Do..you," the dying knight in green spat, "…all…of you really want to win that badly?"_

_He drew in a painful breath, "You all want the Grail that desperately?! You'd crush the only wish I hold in my heart…"_

"_DO NONE OF YOU FEEL ANY SHAME AT ALL!?" Diarmuid screamed, "I won't forgive you. I won't forgive any of you for this! All of you monsters who'd disregard a knight's honor for personal gain…let my blood taint your dreams!"_

_Kiritsugu looked away from the scene and up at a spot in the distance, alternating his blinks in a code only his eagle eye in the distance could see. He didn't have time for a deluded man's monologue. _

"_LET THE GRAIL BE CURSED! LET THE WISH IT GRANTS BRING DISASTER! AND WHEN YOU FALL INTO THE PITS OF HELL, REMEMBER THE RAGE OF DIARMUID!"_

_Lancer completely shattered, his prana held body disappearing and breaking like brittle glass. _

"_Finally," Kiritsugu whispered as he walked away from his wheelchair bound counterpart and felt a familiar prick at his throat. Giving an exasperated sigh he dug into his pocket's and pulled out a cigarette and lighter. Taking a single drag he heard Kayneth speak out to him._

"_The Geass bind you now," the man said tiredly, "Correct?"_

"_Yup," Kiritsugu answered and exhaled the cancerous smoke, "It's in effect. I can't kill either of you."_

_He gave a pause as he took another drag and shoved the lighter back into his pocket._

"_Not personally anyway."_

_As if on cue gun shots rank through the clearing. The 7.61 by 55 millimeter NATO standard rounds pierced easily through Sola-ui and through the chest of Kayneth. Four shells dropped from the WA-2000 Maiya had set up in the building down the road. The two fell to the ground, the force of the sub-sonic bullet throwing them off the wheelchair. Kayneth coughed as blood pooled around his body, he was still alive but would bleed to death shortly. Sola-ui fortunately was dead on contact, the bullet piercing her spinal cord and lungs. _

_The former Master of Lancer wailed and crawled towards Kiritsugu, every labored breath spilling more blood on the floor, "Kill me…please kill."_

"_Sorry," answered Kiritsugu without pity, "Geass contract forbids me." _

_Saber seemed to have had enough and walked towards the suffering man on Death's doorstep. Her golden sword flashed as she severed the head of Kayneth from his shoulders with an expressionless face. The sound of steel slicing through flesh caused Iri to look away in horror. Kiritsugu didn't even spare a glance, just noticing how pretty the moon looked that night. _

"_Emiya Kiritsugu," Arthuria Pendragon spoke stepping past him and the silver car they came in, as if to evade her Master's shadow that was caused by the moonbeams, "I finally understand what a fiend you are. I was a fool to believe that although our paths differed, our goal was mutual. Up until now, I had faith in Irisviel's words, and thus did not doubt your character. But now, I simply cannot believe that a man like you would use the Grail to save the world. Answer me, Kiritsugu! What do you truly want the Grail for?"_

_He rolled his eyes in his mind, truly Heroic Spirits were all such people, like his charming King of Knights. With illusions of grandeur and "honor" clouding their humanity._

"_Even if it is my sword that wins the Grail…if it means that I must yield it you, I…!"_

"_Answer her, Kiritsugu," Irisviel spoke up, breaking her silence, "This time you owe my explanation."_

_The conviction and shock in her voice was evident. _

"_Come to think of it," pondered Kiritsugu, "This is the first time you have seen me do my killing, Iri. If all you do is kill a Master, the Servant might make a contract with another Master. That's why I had to eliminate both Master and Servant simultaneously." _

"_Kiritsugu, please. Not to me, to Saber. She needs to hear your words."_

"_Not at all," he denied, "There's no point to speaking to a killer who takes pride in things like honor and glory."_

_His words were barbed, angled to incite Saber. Honor and glory are just empty ways to justify murder. Murder is evil, murder is inherently evil. It's sinful. But it gets the job done and that's why it's still around, that's why he still killed. Because killing saves people. The irony wasn't missed by the Japanese assassin. _

"_You dare insult chivalry to my face, demon?!" roared Saber. _

"_Knight's cannot save the world," he answered back simply, "They call some actions good and other's evil. As if there was nobility to the battlefield. Heroes spread this illusion throughout history and led countless young men to their bloody demise, all for the sake of your 'honor' and 'glory'."_

"_They are not illusions! Even the act of taking a life, as a human act, must have laws and ideals. Otherwise, every war would bring hell to this world."_

_Kiritsugu wanted to laugh as his Servant spoke the deciding lines. Saber was living a fantasy, an ideal that doesn't exist. Killing was killing; taking human life was taking human life. There is no justice in it. Ideals for this were just made to have people sleep better at night. But then again this was expected of her, she was a superhuman entity of her time, she could never see the battlefield from the point of view of a normal foot-soldier. _

_Alas, a chuckle escaped him, "Well there you go. You heard her, Iri. Our Heroic Spirit, champion of chivalry, thinks that the battlefield is something better than hell. What a joke."_

_He turned around and stared at her._

"_War is hell."_

_Saber flinched at the cold words._

"_War is hell itself. It has nothing by unspeakable despair for humans. Crime goes under the guise of victory, paid for by the pain of the defeated. Yet humanity never recognized this truth. And that's why, in every goddamn era, a dazzling hero has blinded people with their legends and prevented them from seeing the evil in the bloodshed. And that's why humanity has never moved on from the Stone Age."_

"_Then Kiritsugu," asked Iri softly, "Is your hatred for Heroic Spirits why you make Saber endure such humiliation?"_

"_Of course not," he scoffs, "I don't allow private feelings to interfere. I will win the Holy Grail and save the world. I am simply waging the battle using the most appropriate methods at my disposal."_

_Maiya's car drove up at this time, the doors unlocking to allow him in._

"_Righteousness cannot save this world. I care nothing for it."_

"_Kiritsugu," Athuria called out, her voice no longer angered but almost worried, "Do you understand? If you do evil out of a hatred for evil, that rage and hate will merely birth new conflict. Emiya Kiritsugu. I don't know what betrayed you and caused you to fall into such despair in the past. But your rage and sorrow are found only in those who once sought justice. So...in your youth deep down, you must have wanted to be a champion of justice. You believed heroes could save the world. You desired it more than anyone else. Am I wrong?"_

_He couldn't stop himself from sending a glare at her over his shoulder, before letting his face fall blank. Anger wouldn't solve a thing. "I will end this ceaseless-cycle. The Grail will make that possible. I will make sure that the blood spilled in Fuyuki is the last blood humanity will ever shed. Even if it mean's bearing all the world's evil, I don't care. If it will save the world, I'll do it gladly."_

_He got in the car, and with a brief look with Maiya, she switched gears and the car drove off into Shinto city. _

_~\*/*\*/*\*/~_

_Kiritsugu knocked on the heavy doors of the shed five times in what would seem like a casual knock to the unobservant onlookers, but in reality it was a code that only he and his partner knew. He alternated the times between hit: two quick followed by one slow, ending with two quick. Maiya opened and quickly ushered him in and walked outside herself. _

_Walking a few meter's in, he saw Iri. She was lying down inside a runic circle, trying to generate as much mana as possible. It took a few moments for her to realize that he was in the room, even though he took care to step as loudly as possible. She tilted her head towards him and gave a small smile, "Oh it's you, Kiritsugu."_

_She took a deep, labored breath and exhaled slowly. Kiritsugu kneeled next to her._

"_I'm not dreaming am I?" she asked, "You really came to see me again."_

_His inner humanity screamed at him to hug her and hold her. Tell her to perish the thought that he would abandon her. He loved her, and the second he had heard that she had fallen he had to all but stop himself from running the distance there. _

"_Yes," he stated instead, with a measured tone that took all of his self-control to deliver, "That's right." He froze his face in his trademark frown and looked down upon his wife. She looked frail and weak, cheeks sunken, eyes dull, and hair fraying. Where did his fairy of a wife go? _

"_Thank you," she said, giving him a smile that wanted him to tear himself up from the inside. What type of man was he? Why did he still continue with this? "Lastly, I need to return this to you."_

"_NO!" he bellowed, Iri flinching at the sudden sternness. If she was this weak with Avalon, without I she…she…she would…_

_Iri gave another sad smile and tried holding her husband's hand, but found her own limbs unable to move. _

"_Kiritsugu," she chided softly, "You need Avalon more than I do. When you fight your final battle I'm sure it'll aid you."_

"_Iri…" he said softly, telling his body to stop. He couldn't cry now. Not when he still had the world to save._

"_You know, I'm really happy. I've loved and been loved in return. I've had a husband and a daughter for eight whole years. You gave me everything. All the happiness in the world was never meant for me."_

"_I'm sorry," he apologized, keeping his voice terse, "I wanted to show you more of the world."_

"_No, it's fine. If there's any happiness that I have yet to experience, give it all to Illya. My daughter, your daughter…our beloved Illya. Don't forget to bring Illya to this country? You hear me? ? Show her everything I wasn't able to see. The sakura, the summer clouds."_

"_I…I" he answered, his mind finally hesitating, "I will."_

_Irisviel gave her last smile, and formed a cup over her stomach. A golden light that became a halo and out of it, Avalon sprouted, coming out of the homunculus' body. The perfect sheathe of King Arthuria herself was soon in his hands. _

"_I love you Kiritsugu," Irisviel said. _

_And then it started happening. Her body started breaking down, flecks of her flesh became like shards of glass that were blown away by invisible winds. All that remained was a golden cup. The empty Holy Grail. Acht had said that Irisviel could hold at maximum, the cores of three Heroic Spirits before she returned to being the Lesser Grail. _

_And for the first time in years, Kiritsugu felt himself cry. _

_~\*/*\*/*\*/~_

_Thought it wasn't long before he was made to cry again. Maiya was in his arms just a few days later. Her stomach impaled with shards of wood and a blade. She wiped his falling tears and reminded him of what he had to do. _

_So he stood and let her go to the other side before him. _

_~\*/*\*/*\*/~_

_He sat upon Ryuudou Temple, not there to pray, but still feeling spiritual nonetheless. It had been forty hours since he last slept. To win the war and summon the Holy Grail, one must perform the ritual at one of the four Fuyuki ley line areas. At two of them, the church and the Tohsaka residence. Kotomine Kirei was nowhere to be found. Which left Mt. Enzou and Fuyuki City Hall. This wass the more likely place, considering their respective spiritualties. Even if Kirei chose Fuyuki City Hall, Kiritsugu could go for a frontal assault from here. Though if Maiya was still alive he could go there himself to secure it. _

_And once again he was alone…except for his pretty, albeit annoying, King of Knights. _

"_Since last night, I've been searching the entire city for Irisviel," Saber said exhaustedly as she walked towards him, Kiritsugu noted how she called his wife Irisviel although the woman was nothing but a golden chalice now. "But I have found nothing. I am deeply sorry."_

_She paused a second to let Kiritsugu answer if he needed anything, "Well then. If you need me, use a Command Spell to summon me like you did before." With that she spun on her heel and walked away._

_He would leave at night to check the City Hall, but before then it would be a good idea to get some sleep. He had pills in his car, so Kiritsugu would just go and get them._

_The Magus Killer was suddenly in a waiting room sitting across from her. The feeling was disconcerting, like being shoved in a glass bottle an eighth your size all the while aware of being full and intact. The waiting room was simple, wooden floor covered by a Persian rug, off-white walls with book shelves to break the monotony. But no door, no door in sight. _

"_Who…are you?" he asked slowly, looking at the woman in front of him. It was a rhetorical question; he knew exactly who she was. _

"_Ah, but my beloved you know exactly who I am," answered the woman closing her eyes happily and tilting her head to one side, "I am your wife Irisviel von Einzbern"_

_He didn't say anything, just staring at the woman who called herself Irisviel von Einzbern. He was absolutely sure it was not his wife. His wife had become the Grail not so long ago. Though if this was a fake, it was a very convincing fake, same mannerisms and speech pattern. But there was a cold underlying tone in her voice that so very unlike her sunny personality._

"_Then again, I am not truly her. As the Grail I have no form. No personality or behavior. I borrowed this one's attributes and constructed a body based off her. In a way you still are talking to your wife, just one who has a slightly different mindset."_

"…_what?" _

_His voice croaked out. _

_Irisviel opened her eyes slowly and blinked. She moved her head back to a normal position and got out of her chair. Her white dress flapped softly as she came closer. _

"_I want to know your wish Master of Saber, Emiya Kirtsugu" _

_She pressed both hands to the side of his temples. At a snail's pace her faced edged towards his, at some point her lips touching his in a kiss. It wasn't anything warm like what they had done before when she was alive, this one felt impersonal and unworldly._

_Suddenly there was a stretch of beach before him. _

_~\*/*\*/*\*/~_

_He walked through the underground parking lot of Fuyuki City Hall. He had made a phone call to Germany several hours earlier. And had decided after his meeting with that __**thing**__ inside the Grail: it was not an omnipotent wish granting device. _

_He had to destroy it. He must destroy it. _

_But he did not tell Saber. Telling her would take too much time and interfere with her role as distraction. _

_He climbed up one pair of stairs and came to the next floor._

"_Hiya~!" a young feminine voice called out to him. He stopped mid stride as he turned his head to the left slowly. Standing there was a teenage girl with a white dress that ended right above her knees. She had deep blue eyes that seemed to glow in the darkness and pink hair that made her look like some demented fairy. It was Manaka Sajyou. _

"_Kirei-chan said you would be here," she said as she bounced towards, him, closing the gap between them to a meter fifteen meters. "I really don't get why he wants to meet you. You're not as pretty as I am. Or as powerful as I am. But you get his eyes to change, so it made me curious."_

_The girl blabbered on, not caring seemingly that a gun was being pointed at her head. _

"_But it really makes me angry. Why he cares about you but doesn't give me the time of day. His eyes are really pretty you know? Serious and empty, and I always wondered if I could change them. But your very name makes those orbs change shape. Really irks me."_

"_What do you want?" he asked, "The Grail is upstairs with Kirei."_

"_Oh I know that, but that pretty lady from the dream said that it found you interesting so I wanted to meet you first," Sajyou answered nonchalantly, "But I don't get it still. You're nothing special. Just a killer who doesn't like killing. You're eyes are ugly; you hate the things you do. You're nothing like Kirei. I wonder why he says that you two are similar."_

_Kiritsugu's mind froze. The Grail had spoken to her? Did it ask for her wish as well? Maybe it did it for every Master?_

"_You still didn't answer my question," he said reminding her that he was still there, "What do you want?"_

"_It wasn't obvious? Your death of course."_

_Suddenly two runic spell circles appeared on the floor as the concrete broke apart to give way to ebony colored wooden roots that shot at him, the ends as sharp as javelins. _

_~\*/*\*/*\*/~_

_Kiritsugu stifled the groan coming up his throat as stumbled up the stairs, finally out of the parking lot. He placed his back against the wall and tried to control his breathing. The fight with Sajyou was tougher than he had expected. His Origin bullets were ineffective against her magecraft. She only used external prana sources for her Formal Craft, his bullets were only bullets at that point as far she was concerned. The roots she produced and the winds seemed to have some sort of demonic sentience, even breaking through his Time Alter at certain points. _

_His final plan was a suicidal one, but it worked. Using Quatro Accel he had to weave around the roots and simply push her away from her bounded field. His magic was faster than hers and he had managed to kick her out the window of the parking lot. _

_But she wasn't dead._

_Saber was still engaging Berserker, so the teenager with a twisted love for Kirei was still alive. _

_He was running out of time. He still had two command seals and now was the moment to use it. Sajyou had said that Kirei had made a new contract with Archer. Kirei planned to use the Grail for some sort of destruction. The faster the Grail was destroyed the better. _

"_With my second Command Seal I order you, Saber, to use Excalibur to destroy the Holy Grail"_

_One of the glowing red marks fizzled out._

"_With my third Command Seal I order you, Saber, to use Excalibur to destroy the Holy Grail"_

_Finally running out of energy he slumped to the floor, waiting for the deed to be done. _

_~\*/*\*/*\*/~_

_Saber was locked blades crossing with Lancelot, her former knight who she just found out was Berserker the entire time. Confused and enraged at sight of her former comrade she desperately called to him. Wondering why her greatest knight and friend had succumbed to such madness. _

_Was it because she didn't lead her people like Rider said? _

_Was it her fault that even those who followed her to the end had to suffer like this?_

_At this moment the command spell came through and her body was out of her control. _

"_WHAT?!" Saber screamed, her feet disobeying her will. She kicked Lancelot out of the way with her plated boot, his back slamming into the wall. Without even wasting a glance, she was off running up the stairs to where the Grail was._

"_KIRITSUGU WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" she screamed._

_Saber had simply cut down the doors that were barring way to the auditorium. Rows of staggered seats led down to a small table that was covered with a red cloth. Standing on top of the object was a golden cup. Her arms started moving by themselves as she unwittingly activated Excalibur, the familiar rush of prana for the first time covering her in fear. She tried to stop herself, putting all energy into her Magic Resistance to stop his act. The Grail was right there!_

"_With my third Command Seal I order you, Saber, to use Excalibur to destroy the Holy Grail"_

_His words were resolute and unwavering to the point where even Saber's heart fluttered against them without avail. He truly was rejecting the Grail. _

_Her arms were about to bring down the Noble Phantasm when suddenly a black sword pierced her heart. She looked down in horror to see Arondight was covered in her blood. _

"_Lancelot… why?"_

_Behind her Berserker was limp on the floor, only his hand having enough strength to push the sword deeper into her. Arondight taking all his prana and unknowingly all of his Master's prana too. She was probably dead. _

_The golden length of Excalibur grew shorter and shorter, as Arondight's anti-dragon concept activated, draining her magic core with astonishing speed. But the command spells were still active. Even with Excalibur waning she was still forced to swing. _

"_STOP ITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!"_

_Her screams went unanswered as the blade came down, the edge of the golden light only nipping the edge of the golden cup. _

_And the world exploded into a radiant light…_

_~\*/*\*/*\*/~_

Kiritsugu woke with a start, his upper body jerking upward with great force. His lungs were screaming and his throat was clenched painfully. He coughed several times before sweet air filled his chest. Sweat poured down his face and throat.

"What… in… the… world?" he whispered between heaving breaths of air. His eyes weren't clear, but the fog was slowly lifting. His head felt like it was going to explode.

"Kiritsugu?"

A voice called out, causing the Magus killer to freeze in place. He slowly turned his head and was met with the face of…

Irisviel.

**[Chapter 01 End]**

**Hey there my loyal readers, or new comers to these machinations of mine. This author's note is pretty important so I hope you guys read it.**

**A super long chapter full of flash backs, yeah I know you guys hate it. But I needed to write it to show more of Kiritsugu's thoughts during the events of Fate/Zero and how this will change as the story progresses. It's also a way to exposition some events I have in mind for the future.**

**The premise of this AU is that Kiritsugu, the true winner of the Fourth Grail War, wishes for a world where Shirou and his family live. Now Mainyu grants the wish by placing Kiritsugu into a new world where the events of the war happen slightly differently. All mainly because Shinji is actually born with power. Ironic, I know. **

**The quality of the beginning of the flash backs is better than at the end. Near completion of the chapter I just wanted to get it out there. I mean, it's the longest chapter I ever wrote and it felt like a marathon where I was running out of steam at the end. Would have had these written weeks ago if I didn't stop occasionally to regain my muse. By the way, chapters will NEVER EVER be this long. It'll kill me, I swear. My goal is for a 10k word limit every chapter. Not this monstrosity of a work. **

**Flashbacks stop next chapter and we get into the juicy scenes…**

**I apologize for my poor writing and pacing, it's a skill I'm trying to develop. **

**So until next time! Please rate and review! **

**WAIT! I DESPERATELY NEED A BETA TO DISCUSS WITH AND READ OVER MY WORK! Anyone who wants to volunteer please shoot me a PM.  
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**{/_Soul-kun_\\}**


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